Eric and I watched Pacific Rim opening weekend, entranced by flashy commercials of glorious monsters and glittering machinery. Sometimes I go to a movie for its emotional or intellectual appeal; this was not one of those times. However, determined to elevate itself from the ranks of the entertaining but vacuous robot flicks like Bay's Transformers, Pacific Rim devotes time to character development -- too much, in fact. I found myself rolling my eyes (along with Eric) and anxiously waiting for the next Kaiju to strike. The upside is that when the battles do come, they rage violently and beautifully. Nevertheless, I felt deprived by the number of fight scenes: a meager three, if I recall correctly. Still, despite its glaring flaws, Pacific Rim not only succeeds in being a smarter and more satisfying film than Transformers, it delivers a wonderful visual feast of flesh-and-metal fights.

Rating: 3.5/5 Read more →